


A Love Note from the Winter Wind

by Evitcani



Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fairies, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Family, Fluff, M/M, Some Jokes of a Sexual Nature, Swearing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-03
Updated: 2018-01-07
Packaged: 2019-02-27 20:21:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 6,648
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13255899
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Evitcani/pseuds/Evitcani
Summary: It was an accident! Or so Kravitz claims when he bumbles the first day on his job. He loses his baton, somehow soul-merges with a surly human and is probably heading straight to unemployment.At least the human he nearly killed – named Taako – is cuteandcalls him handsome. Too bad he can’t get this dumb grin off his face and Taako won’t be able to see or hear him the minute he undoes whatever he did.Will be publishing a chapter a day until done.





	1. Dear Love of Mine,

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this in a day after a joke about the wind stealing my breath.

It was an accident, really. 

Kravitz danced down the suburban street with his baton, snow and ice swirling where his feet touched. He had only been promoted a few days ago. It made him proud to usher in a beautiful winter for humans to admire. Not everyone quite admired the winter – not right away. A man walking on the sidewalk grumbled and hunched into his coat. 

_He’s cute_ , Kravitz thought with a little smile and walked unseen beside him, still guiding the snow with a twirl of his baton. The man was texting on his phone and Kravitz averted his eyes so he didn’t invade. Whatever was on the screen made the man giggle to himself and Kravitz thought that was cute, too.

Feeling indulgent, Kravitz decided to get the man more into the winter spirit. He knew humans liked ice skating. So, he blew across a puddle as the man stepped onto it. Unfortunately, the human slipped with a swear. Kravitz thought he would catch himself and skate across. Maybe he would laugh or draw other humans out. It wasn’t a big puddle, but maybe enough for a pirouette? He smiled as he watched, waiting for the human to impress him. Instead, the poor creature flailed and started to fall backwards. Without thinking, Kravitz rushed forward and dropped his baton on the sidewalk. He caught the man under his arms right before he smacked into the ground.

Their eyes met and Kravitz stole the man’s awed gasp. 

His body fell through Kravitz and thumped onto the pavement. “Oh no,” Kravitz whispered and pushed the ghost back to his feet. “Oh no. Oh.” He turned and dropped to his knees besides the body, huffing warm air into his hands.

The newly created ghost stared down in his body with alarm. “What the fuck—?” 

Kravitz heard glanced over as he pressed the breath he’d taken back into the man’s body. The ghost disappeared and his eyes snapped out. He curled on his side, hacking. Kravitz stood to flee, but the man grabbed his sleeve.

Which shouldn’t have been possible. _Ideally_. 

“Who the _fuck_ are you?” 

“It was an accident,” he insisted and tried to rip his sleeve free. Where was his baton? He was going to be fired. 

The man was still coughing and shaking on his side. “ _What_ are you?” 

“It’s not important, Taako,” he said without thinking. Where had he gotten the man’s name? 

“Your name is Kravitz,” Taako said quietly. His hand went lax with as much surprise as Kravitz. A light inside the house they were in front of came on and Kravitz took the distraction to flee. He ran into the trees and stood, hidden and watching. Other people came outside and leaned over Taako with their phones in hand.

 _Gods_ , Kravitz thought as he watched the ambulance that showed up a few minutes later load Taako into the back. His first day on his job and he’d nearly killed a human. With a start, he realized he’d never picked up his baton. He thumped his head hard enough against a fir tree to shake the snow free.


	2. Do you remember the night we met?

Taako woke up in the hospital without an recollection of how he’d gotten there. The night before felt like a blur of slipping and a beautiful man catching him and a sudden dump of information and—. He groaned and leaned forward, rubbing his temples.

 _Kravitz_.

He swore he saw his breath puffing out in front of him. As if summoned by his thought, he caught movement out of the corner of his eye and saw Kravitz sit on a branch outside his window. A part of him was glad he hadn’t hallucinated the whole thing. 

Another part of him was _pissed_. 

That part won out. Glaring, Taako flipped him the bird. Kravitz put a hand against his chest as if wounded and Taako swallowed back a sudden onset of tears at a flood of hurt. He gripped the sheets and squeezed his eyes shut as if he could physically force it back. _What the fuck?_

The hurt was shortly accompanied by confusion and worry that twisted his stomach into nausea. He groaned and hugged himself, head spinning. All at once, the feelings were gone. Taako fell back on his pillows gasping for breath and throat working excessively to try to swallow back the bile.

Whatever it was, he knew whose fault it was.

He turned his head to the window and snarled. Kravitz was sitting on the sill, looking sheepish. He tapped on the window. With a warning finger in Kravitz’s direction, Taako turned his glare on his IV. Well, wouldn’t be the first time. He ripped it out with a wince and saw Kravitz wince out of the corner of his eye. At least it was a two-way street. Holding his arm, he threw his legs over the side of the bed and wobbled to the window. He managed to barely crack it open.

Kravitz disappeared into a gust of cold air that swirled through the open window. He reappeared on Taako’s bed, picking up a card on the bedside table curiously. Taako turned around and glared until Kravitz put the card back down. He wanted to know what Kravitz was, but he expected that to take a while. Whatever was wrong with him, he wanted fixed as soon as possible.

“You’re not a figment of my brain damage. Good, great, grand,” he growled and hobbled over to his bed, sitting down stubbornly. “What the _fuck_ is this emotion bullshit?” He shook a shaky hand in Kravitz’s semi-transparent face, grabbing the lace ruffles at his throat.

Kravitz folded his hands in his laps. He unfolded and re-folded them nervously, glancing away. “Would you believe me if I said I don’t know?”

“Absolutely not,” Taako answered without hesitation.

“Never been a very good liar,” he coughed and tried to lean out of Taako’s grasp. Taako held on, waiting for an answer. “I stole your breath.”

Taako gave him a flat look. 

“It’s like—,” he cleared his throat awkwardly, looking at Taako and then away. “Your soul?” Taako took a deep breath. “It was an accident. I was trying to stop you from falling. I made the ice because I thought you’d like to skate and well that didn’t go well. I tried to ask someone, but they laughed about it not having happened in a thousand years and not to be—,” Kravitz babbled and Taako started to feel that horrible twist of anxiety in his stomach. Overwhelming and not his own. “I think it means it’s not very common to linger like this since I _know_ Jenkins stole someone’s breath last week. My baton is missing so I can’t do much. Shouldn’t need it if _Jenkins_ —.”

“Stop, stop, stop,” Taako snarled and put a hand over Kravitz’s face, squishing his mouth. Kravitz stopped talking and took a breath as Taako clutched at his stomach. “Fix this,” he hissed, pinching Kravitz’s cheek painfully. He felt a ghost of it on his own cheek and winced with Kravitz. 

Kravitz nodded and disappeared into a gust of icy wind, appearing again next to the window. “I wanted to make sure you were okay,” he said quietly. 

Taako blinked at the touch of genuine concern. His expression softened and he sighed. “I’m good, my guy,” he grumbled and waved his hand. There was a beat of gladness extended his way that wasn’t happiness for avoiding personal guilt. Kravitz smiled and for some kind of frost spirit he sure was handsome. He disappeared out the window.

Taako rolled onto his back and covered his eyes. “What the hell,” he muttered to himself.


	3. I can only see it for the stars I counted in your eyes and the dawn that laid in your hair.

The first order of business was finding his baton. Normally, Kravitz would simply call to it and would feel its pull. Taako was clouding that. All Kravitz felt was an insistent tug over his heart in the direction of Taako’s hospital room. He closed his eyes, but nothing came to him except the tug of war with Taako’s soul. Opening his eyes, Kravitz circled the sidewalk where Taako had fallen again. 

_Nothing_.

He bit on his thumb and looked around nervously. Upper Management was already upset about his productivity. He was supposed to hang another two streets with icicles. Without his baton, he’d barely managed to frost the windows. He sighed and sat on the ground, hugging his knees. 

His current situation looked something like this: he’d nearly killed a human, he’d somehow soul merged with said human, he’d lost his baton, and he was probably going to get fired. The only mark he’d make is as the worst employee Upper Management had ever taken a chance on. Kravitz ran his hands over his face and muffled a scream of frustration into his slacks. 

“Are you alright, sir?” 

His head snapped up and he blinked at a little kid walking a dog. The kid looked a little too old to still believe in magic, but it was mostly his fault – again, his fault – for walking around in broad daylight. “I’m fine,” he smiled reassuringly and stood, shaking snow off of himself. “It’s too cold to play outside,” he warned.

“I’m not playing, sir,” the kid said with a gesture at the dog. “You’re a snow fairy, aren’t you?”

_Ah_ , Kravitz thought to himself with a grimace. A wizard’s apprentice. “If you know that much, you should know how it looks to be talking to nothing,” he grumbled and waved his hand vaguely at the houses.

The little boy laughed at him and shook his head. “No one else is outside,” he shrugged with a glimmer in his eyes. “Besides, I don’t care what people think of me.”

“This is why people don’t like wizards,” Kravitz snorted and stomped his way towards the treeline. “Good for you I’ve got better things to do than entertain you.”

The boy wizard followed after him. “Why don’t you like wizards?”

“They don’t know when to leave well enough alone,” he retorted and started to climb a tree to get away from this boy.

The boy puffed out his cheeks and frowned up at Kravitz. “Good for you. You’re missing something aren’t you, sir? I’m good at finding things. I’m a detective, not a wizard,” he argued. “My name is Angus! I’d like to help you, sir.”

“I don’t need help from a wizard,” Kravitz called down and tossed a pinecone at the kid’s head. 

Angus stepped out of the way and crossed his arms. The dog barked happily and chased the pinecone, bringing it back to Angus with her tail wagging. “Sir, I told you—,” he grumbled something under his breath and looked back at the sidewalk. “You wouldn’t be the first fey I’ve helped!”

“Name one fey you’ve helped,” Kravitz glared down between the pine needles and lobbed another pinecone for the dog to chase. 

“Her Majesty, The Queen of Ravens,” Angus said with his nose in the air. Kravitz paused and tilted his head suspiciously. “Someone stole her name and I helped her get it back.”

His eyes went wide. He’d heard of that. Kravitz jumped out of the tree and landed beside Angus with a gust of snow to ease his fall. “Do you know what fairy batons look like?” 

“Maybe I would if you apologize, sir,” Angus replied simply, giving Kravitz a look that oddly reminded him of Taako. He closed his eyes, looking away.

“I’m sorry about the pinecone,” Kravitz said quietly. Angus turned his head towards Kravitz, eyes still closed. “And being rude.” 

Angus opened one eye. “And?”

Kravitz frowned, not sure what else there was. “Telling you to fuck off in my head?”

Angus guffawed and covered his mouth. “Actually, it was only the two things, but I wanted to see how sincere you were,” he grinned. Kravitz frowned, not liking being tricked by a little kid. “Okay, those are those big icicles you wave around, right?” 

Kravitz’s mouth twitched into a frown. “It’s rude to watch us working,” he said half-heartedly. Angus shrugged. “Yes. Mine has a dandelion and raven’s feather frozen into the base. Like this.” Rolling up his sleeve, he showed Angus the tattoo of a flurry of feathers caught in the wind with a sprinkling of dandelions. He pulled one of the feathers from his tattoo and gave it to Angus who stared at it in amazement. “If you find it, you can keep that. If you crush it, it’ll make—.”

“Fairy dust,” Angus finished in awe. Kravitz nodded with a little smile. “Fairy dust cures anything, doesn’t it?” He handed the feather back to Kravitz delicately. 

“Not in humans,” Kravitz said gently and started to press it back into his arm. “It’s better for flying or magic potions that make you breath fire or invisible. Like—. Like—. What do you call them? Superheroes. You can be like one of those.”

“I don’t want superpowers. It’d be a lot of responsibility. I think a dog is enough,” Angus laughed and gestured to the dog. Kravitz saw the grey around her muzzle. “I know she can’t live forever, but I want it to be easier.”

Kravitz’s face softened and he leaned down to pet the old beagle. She wagged her tail and barked happily. “Well, I’ll pay you this much for offering to help at all,” he smiled. He crushed the feather over her head and let the powder fall over her. She tilted her head curiously and tried to eat the little lights that fell in front of her eyes. 

Angus grabbed his hand, shaking it enthusiastically. “You’ve got yourself a deal, sir,” he beamed and took out a little notebook with a pencil. “I’ll need you to tell me everything about the last time you saw it.” 

Kravitz swallowed and nodded, walking back to the sidewalk. “Well, I dropped it here when—. Well, it’s not important,” he laughed nervously and put his hands on his hips.

“I don’t know about that,” Angus demurred and tapped his foot. “Everything means everything, sir.”

Kravitz grimaced. “Everything, huh?” He sighed and turned away. “Well, it was an accident. Really, it was,” he started while Angus took notes.


	4. Everything else seems less vibrant in comparison to you.

“Your ride is here,” a nurse called to Taako. 

“Fuckin’ finally,” Taako grumbled and let the nurse escort him to the waiting room. Angus practically tackled him around the middle at first sight and Magnus wasn’t far behind. “Agh,” he complained and tried to wiggle free. “C’mon let’s not crush the guy who just got out of the hospital, my dudes.” 

Magnus let go and took a step back with a frown. “Sorry, Taako, but I was really scared when you didn’t come home last night,” he sighed and gestured. “More scared when you didn’t show up to take Angus to school.”

Rolling his eyes, Taako stubbornly headed for the doors with Angus still clinging to his arm. “‘M super good. Weird night, but it’s fine,” he grouched at the touch of guilt. It wasn’t like he could help being unconscious most of the night. “You didn’t tell my sister, right?”

“No-o,” Magnus replied guiltily. 

“Sir,” Angus said quietly.

Taako turned on Magnus on the sidewalk. “You’re an awful liar, Mango,” he glared.

“I-I only told Barry,” Magnus laughed breathily and hurried towards his car. 

“Uncle Taako,” Angus insisted.

“You what?!” Taako covered his face with a groan. “She has enough to worry about without my clumsy ass fallin’ on the sidewalk!”

“Uncle Taako,” Angus persisted with a tug on his arm, digging his heels in. 

“Look Taako, she has enough to worry about without you hiding shi—,” Magnus cut himself off with a glance at Angus. “ _Stuff_ from her.”

“Taako,” Angus huffed, annoyed. 

Taako opened his mouth to yell something witty and insulting, but Magnus cut him off. “Dude, your nephew wants your attention,” Magnus hissed and slammed the car door. 

Rubbing his temples, Taako turned to Angus and stared at the overcast sky. “Peanut, please let it be important,” he groaned. 

“I talked to this fairy—,” Angus started excitedly, pulling out his notebook.

“Lup has seriously got to stop this bullshit,” Taako interrupted. “Can you tell me about your fairy friends later, pumpkin? I’m really tired and the day is only gonna—.”

Angus’s shoulders went up and he met Taako’s eyes angrily. “I talked to _your_ fairy friend, Kravitz,” he huffed. Taako’s eyes went wide and he held up a hand as he caught Kravitz’s eyes inside the car. Kravitz sat – unseen by Magnus – buckled into the backseat next to Johanna. 

“You’ve gotta be—,” Taako mumbled in disbelief. A burst of foreign happiness sprouted from his chest when Kravitz gave a little smile and wave at being noticed. 

“If we don’t help him, he might get fired,” Angus explained. “From his version of last night, I think he may have dropped his baton, uh,” he gestured at Taako’s chest. “Inside you.”

Taako blinked and stared down at himself. He looked back up at Angus with a frown. “Tell him to get it out.”

“He said it’s not that easy,” Angus apologized and opened the backdoor, climbing in.

“Of course it’s not,” Taako lamented, waving a hand as he jerked open the passenger door to the car. “Never is,” he went on and buckled himself in. 

“Angus says there’s a fairy in the backseat,” Magnus grinned and turned to reverse out of the parking spot. “I think he just means Johanna, huh?”

“Hi,” Kravitz said with a little smile. 

“Hey there, handsome,” Taako said automatically. “I actually think I believe him this time, bubala. Because that’s my life now.” 

“Wait, you think I’m handsome?” Kravitz asked and leaned as forward as far as the seatbelt allowed. _Oh boy_ , Taako could feel the surge of hope and vanity and want to be humble all at once. 

“Hi,” Magnus laughed in response, giving him a confused smile. “I asked the barber to take off a little from the sides. Is it too noticeable?”

Taako turned to look at Magnus’s haircut. “Julia is going to love it. She loves you. We’ve been over this,” he sighed with a finger wag.

“I asked my question first,” Kravitz complained and drummed his fingers on his knee.

“But seriously, Taako,” Magnus hissed. “I thought we agreed x-nay on the airy-thing since Lup—. Has something changed?”

“I can hear you,” Angus interjected from the backseat. 

Taako pinched the bridge of his nose. This was a little ridiculous. “I need to uh reevaluate the Lup thing,” he said and glanced back at Kravitz. He really did not want this stranger to be hearing personal family trauma. 

“I told you Aunt Lup wasn’t making it up,” Angus exclaimed from the back and Johanna barked as if in agreement. “Can she come home? Please?”

“Time and a place, peanut,” Taako warned and covered his face. “Lup can come home whenever she wants. Right now, she wants to prove a point. Which is _fine_. Nothin’ to do with fairies or whatever.”

“Sorry, kiddo,” Magnus glanced at Taako out of the corner of his eyes then back at the road. “Grown-up stuff is confusing.”

“I’m a grown-up and I’m confused,” Kravitz commented from the back, glancing between the three of them. 

Taako snorted and covered his laugh. “Don’t worry about it,” he snickered. 

“Yeah, what he said, buddy,” Magnus grinned as they pulled into the driveway. He turned to Taako with an apologetic smile. “Sorry, I’m just dropping you off. Gotta go back to work.” 

“Right,” Taako sighed and hopped out of the car. Angus, Kravitz, and Johanna followed shortly. “I’ll make somethin’ for dinner. And we’re gonna talk more about what you told Barry,” he said with a wave and shut the door as Magnus started to groan. Magnus waved at both as he pulled out of the driveway and drove off. Taako turned to Kravitz and put his hands on his hips. “Now, how do we get this wand out of my chest or whatever?”

He felt rather than saw Kravitz’s nervous laughter. “He said he probably can’t without killing you again,” Angus said bluntly and started towards the door. Johanna chased after him. 

“Cool cool cool,” Taako muttered and glared at Kravitz over Angus’s head. A sharp tug of guilt and Taako looked away. “I’m not staying like this forever.”

“You don’t have to,” Kravitz said quickly and took Taako’s arm, pulling him to a stop. “I can use you.”

“What,” Taako deadpanned. 

Embarrassment started up Taako’s cheeks from Kravitz and Kravitz covered his mouth. “What I mean is—,” Kravitz started with a breathy laugh, “B-batons don’t last forever. Most of it probably disappeared when you went back in your body. If I use up all its magic, things should go back to normal. I’d have to use the magic through you which could be _uncomfortable_ , but probably not impossible.” 

His nervousness was making Taako’s own stomach fluttery. Taako rubbed his eyes with his hands and pulled away from Kravitz to unlock the door. “At this point? I don’t even give a fuck anymore. I want off your emotional rollercoaster, babe,” he hissed. Like earlier, the feelings shut off all at once and Kravitz looked sheepish. 

“Sorry, I—. That’s the part that might be uncomfortable,” he said softly and stood off to the side of the porch. “You’ll see. Whenever you’re ready. I’ll wait out here.”

Taako groaned. None of this sounded good. Stuck with this dude and his _feelings_. “I’d rather have you in my living room than lurking around my yard. Get inside. All of you hooligans,” he snapped, more harshly than he meant. He let his face soften at the flutter of concern across Angus’s face and whatever bond he shared with Kravitz. “Especially you,” he groused, staring down at Johanna. She thumped her tail and bolted inside the moment he opened the door. 

It was some levity at least. Their concerns faded. 

Angus chased after her and Kravitz followed cautiously as if anywhere he stepped was a trap. Taako closed the door behind himself and pointed at the kitchen table. “Sit,” he ordered. 

Relief at having something to do soaked through Taako. Kravitz sat and laced his fingers together. Taako rummaged around the kitchen and set a kettle on the stove. “You want some tea or cocoa?” 

Kravitz froze and Taako felt at once a flurry of confusing emotions that made him stumble. _Shyness? Worry? Fear? Desire?_ He gripped the counter for support. 

Angus practically flew into the room and held up his hands. “Don’t give a fairy anything to eat or drink unless you want them to stay, sir,” he warned and put a notebook on the table. “ _Forever._ ”

“Oh yeah because _that_ makes sense,” Taako sighed in exasperation. Kravitz let out a relieved breath and bowed over the table. “Anything else I should know, Ango?”

Angus tapped his chin thoughtfully. “I don’t think so,” he said with a shake of his head. “I’ll go see if I can find Aunt Lup’s do’s and don’t’s just in case.” Like that, he was thundering up the stairs. 

“Fuck me,” Taako grumbled and felt a jab of something that gave him an idea Kravitz wouldn’t mind doing just that. He stiffened in surprise and smirked at Kravitz. “I felt that, handsome. I’m not putting anything in you until you get your _wand_ out of me,” he grinned. 

The emotions shut off again and Kravitz cleared his throat. “That’s—,” he started and Taako’s grin widened at the steam rolling off his curls. “Ha-ah.” He turned his head away and swallowed. “You might also be interested in me putting my wand back in a few more times,” he said to the window. 

_Cute_ , Taako thought and hummed noncommittally as he poured two mugs of cocoa out. “I’m not giving you jack shit, but I couldn’t stop _someone_ from taking this beautiful, delicious cup of cocoa,” he announced and put the second cup in the center of the table. 

Kravitz snatched the mug and took a drink faster than Taako’s eyes could really follow. He set it down and looked Taako in the eyes. “This is mine now.” 

Taako lost it laughing and thumped a hand on the table. “Fuck! Keep it, my guy,” he snickered and took another drink. 

Maybe this wasn’t going to be so bad.


	5. I can’t wait to see how I’ll remember every day with you.

Hot cocoa, Kravitz had thought, was a gift from Her Majesty. At least it’d always been in his experience. The Raven Queen gave it away casually, but it wasn’t something the Winter Court could make itself. He nursed his mug and savored every drop. 

Taako stole the mug back every time he left it empty and then Kravitz would steal it again. Even if Taako wasn’t punishing him for stealing, Kravitz tried not to get carried away being inside a human’s house. Still, he took a bent fork Taako almost tossed in the trash and a marble he found under the couch; they were things he didn’t think anyone would miss. He knew Taako saw him take them, dropping them into his pockets. 

“Listen, my guy,” Taako explained while he stirred a pot of stew as Kravitz played with the marble he’d found. “I’ve gotta get dinner out for my family and some work shit done. Is this wand thing somethin’ we can do later tonight? Aren’t you nocturnal or whatever anyway, babe?”

“Yes,” Kravitz hummed and sipped more of his cocoa. “What do you do for work?”

“What?” Taako half-turned and then rolled his eyes. “Oh. ‘M retired.”

Kravitz squinted. He wasn’t good with human ages, but Taako still seemed a little too _young_ for his understanding of retirement. Instead of playing how little he knew about human age, he decided to go with what he did know. “If you’re retired, why do you have to work so late?”

“That’s my question, too,” Taako muttered to himself darkly and dropped something into the pot. “I gotta manage my cooking school,” he sighed and tapped the spoon on the side of the pot. He put his hands on his hips and watched Kravitz for a moment. “When Maggie gets here, you should go to a different room or somethin’ since he can’t see you.”

_Oh._ Kravitz had forgotten about the other human. Magnus had humored Angus well and shaken the air around his hand at Angus’s prompting. He had no magic, so Kravitz had been – to him – no more than a figment of Angus’s imagination. One he had kept trying to discourage. Kravitz frowned and put his marble in his pocket. “Why doesn’t he want Angus to know about fairies?” 

Taako turned back to the counter and let out a long-suffering sigh. “Listen,” he said bluntly, “you haven’t scored enough brownie points to unlock that secret level, homie.”

Right. Kravitz twiddled his thumbs and coughed awkwardly. He forgot humans were a lot less forthcoming than most fey. “I’m sorry, that was rude,” he whispered. Silence hung heavy over the kitchen for a moment. He wanted to melt into the floor.

“No, you’re good, it’s—,” Taako cut himself off and pinched the bridge of his nose. “You’re good.”

“W-well,” Kravitz started nervously and spread his hands across the table. “Was that a pun about brownie points a moment ago?”

That startled a laugh out of Taako who turned on him with a smirk. “Maybe, maybe,” he grinned with a twirl of his hand. He went to the fridge and took out a bunch of vegetables. “Hey handsome, could you chop these carrots for me?”

More than anything, Kravitz was sure he would do anything if Taako called him handsome. Yet, he had an idea Taako was giving him a task as a peace offering. He smiled goofily against the rim of his mug. Taako turned and shot him a confused look.

“Well?”

Kravitz startled out of his stare. “Yes! Yes, I—. Of course,” he laughed and set his mug down. Taako snorted and turned to the other vegetables while Kravitz got to work. This was an easy task that left him to his thoughts. It’d been decades since he’d had an honest crush on anyone. He glanced at Taako out of the corner of his eyes and what an easy sight that was.

Taako thought _he_ was handsome.

He averted his eyes back to the cutting board with a grin. It couldn’t work out, of course. The wand disappearing would take away Taako’s ability to see, hear, or touch him. At least he could enjoy it while it lasted. 

He stopped and sighed softly.


	6. I love you.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The final chapter. I added a bonus epilogue. :)

This was bad. Kravitz felt proud of himself for being coherent, all things considered. He swallowed and stepped behind Taako, taking both of his hands by setting his palm against the back of Taako’s hand. 

“Sure this isn’t an excuse to get all touchy feely, handsome?” Taako turned his head with a little smirk that made Kravitz’s heart pound in his ears. 

“Y-yes,” he stuttered and held Taako’s hands more firmly by lacing their fingers together. It was unfortunate he was slightly shorter than Taako. He rested his chin on Taako’s shoulder so he could peek over and see what was happening. 

Taako took an awed breath as he became light and immaterial. Temporarily, they were both creatures of magic. “I can’t fly like this,” Kravitz warned as he had the wind pull them both to their tip-toes and steer them towards the yet to be frozen lake in the center of snow. 

“Hey wait these boots are not for pond water,” Taako hissed and squirmed. Kravitz rolled his eyes and put an arm around Taako’s middle, fingers still locked together. “If you can’t fly then don’t—!”

The toes of Kravitz’s feet and Taako’s boots skimmed the top of the freezing water waiting to be frozen. Kravitz closed his eyes and poured the memories from that day into the heartstring that led to Taako. The taste of cocoa, Taako calling him handsome, the fire he’d been allowed to nap beside with Johanna, the pattern of the mug strapped to his belt that jangled against his scimitar. 

Taako made a soft noise of surprise and the heels of their feet touched the ice. The skated across it until they lost momentum, ice spreading wherever they touched. Kravitz dared to open his eyes. 

Magic wasn’t always visible like Kravitz could be. It was a part of the air and the way the light touched a place. Taako was breathing heavy and a tear rolled off his jaw onto his scarf. 

“Oh,” he whispered. “That’s what you meant.”

“There’s not much magic left in it,” Kravitz promised and turned Taako’s face slightly towards his. “Can you put up with it, Taako?” 

“Yeah,” Taako mumbled and closed his eyes. “Yeah, it’s not so bad.” 

Kravitz smiled against the corner of Taako’s jaw and swore he felt a touch of affection that wasn’t his. “After the first burst, it’s less intense,” he explained and skated them forward. Taako wobbled as if afraid they’d fall through the ice but allowed it. “I use music for the rest.”

“Kesha or Beethoven?” Taako laughed nervously as their feet met the water again. Kravitz spun them and briefly let go of Taako so they were face-to-face. 

“Whatever I like,” he smiled as they skated across the forming ice. Taako kept up with him, putting an arm around Kravitz’s waist like he was leading the magic, not its conduit. 

Taako snorted and spun them around the clear cast of the moon on the lake. “And what do you like?” 

“Beethoven and kay-dollar sign-ha,” Kravitz shrugged. 

Taako guffawed and hid his face in Kravitz’s shoulder. “The great snow fairies who herald winter with icicles to the eternal chorus of brushing their teeth with a bottle of jack,” he snickered and rubbed his thumb against Kravitz’s wrist as the picked up their pace. 

Kravitz laughed easily and caught Taako’s pretty eyes filled with starlight. “It’s a little less coordinated than that in the last century,” he smirked and pulled Taako to the center of the lake. “We can hear the radio waves if we’re clever enough with wind.”

“You can’t say that and not prove you’re clever enough,” Taako grinned and brought them to a stop. 

Kravitz sighed in mock exasperation. He concentrated on the wind around them, on Taako’s hands in his and the wonderful feeling of hope racing alongside the butterflies in his veins. [A song began to play.](https://open.spotify.com/track/1j1sbz0yOVlfvlMQEtl8Q3?si=dumDmOosT0u1_5m_ixTBiQ)

Taako snorted and then smiled, taking Kravitz’s hands again. “Not the reeds and spider silk you’re used to I wager ya,” he murmured. “Romantic.”

“Music was harder to come by in the dark days,” Kravitz said easily. “There’s nothing mood music in trying to lean close enough to hear spider silk, bumping noses.”

“I think you missed the point there,” Taako snickered. 

“Hm?” Kravitz paused. Something bothered him. He leaned a little closer to Taako. “I know it isn’t common knowledge snow fairies even exist. Did Angus tell you more about us while I was sleeping?”

Taako shook his head and looked away as if embarrassed. “Who do you think told the little pumpkin?” 

“Well, your sister,” Kravitz ventured. 

“Hah,” Taako crowed. “Mostly cha’boy. Lup said it was too dangerous or whatever to make him aware of the fey, but she’s kinda,” he sighed and grumbled. “We used to have imaginary friends. Fairies. I grew out of that stuff.” He paused, frowning at Kravitz. “She never did.”

“Most children do,” Kravitz offered with a reassuring squeeze of his hand. 

Right,” Taako tittered and looked away. “She’s a uh—. Don’t laugh. She’s a professional witch.” He looked at Kravitz expectantly. 

“Taako,” Kravitz said slowly. “I’m a fairy. I’ve met plenty of witches.”

“Gods,” Taako groaned and skated closer to Kravitz with a hand around his waist. “Don’t remind me I’m on a weird date with a fairy.”

Kravitz laughed and put both arms around Taako’s neck. “Is that what you want this to be?”

“You handsome asshole,” Taako grinned. “How could I resist bein’ a smooth bastard and saying I’d like that a lot?”

They danced and talked their way across the lake until the sun rose over its frozen surface. They were both tired and the dawn was almost welcome. 

“It’s almost time,” Kravitz warned. 

Taako frowned and glanced around. “What’s that—?” He wobbled and nearly fell as he gained sudden physical form. Kravitz barely caught him but it sent them speeding into the snowbank around the lake. 

That was it. 

Kravitz let go of Taako as they fell into the snow. He watched the glee spread across Taako’s face in the rising sun. The pinks and purples catching in his eyes. With the last lingering magic, Kravitz leaned over Taako. Taako smiled up at him, panting for breath. 

“If that’s everything, we can talk about where to put your baton next, bubala,” he grinned and touched Kravitz’s cheek. 

“I’m sorry, Taako,” he whispered as he leaned back. “I don’t have the magic for all that.” Taako frowned and Kravitz rested a hand on Taako’s chest, above his heart. “I wish we could see each other again.” He closed his eyes and pressed a kiss to Taako’s cheek as the magic faded to nothing. 

Taako wouldn’t be able to see him anymore. He started to pull away, but Taako put a hand over his and held him in place. 

Which shouldn’t have been possible. 

“Where do you think you’re going with a line like that, handsome?”

Kravitz opened his eyes wide. Taako’s met his. “Y-you shouldn’t be able to see me. Only wizards and other fey—,” he waved his hand and tested the air for magic. There was none. 

Taako hummed and shrugged indifferently. “Maybe my brother-in-law really is an ogre,” he grinned and put an arm around Kravitz’s neck. 

_Ah._ “You’re a latent wizard!” Kravitz exclaimed as Taako touched their foreheads together. “So you can see me! We could go on dates and you could even touch me!” He paused, face warming under Taako’s thumb. “If you wanted,” he added. 

“Mhm,” Taako purred and put an arm around Kravitz’s waist. “I want to touch you a whole lot right now, babe.”

He stole Kravitz’s breath with a kiss.


	7. Yours Always, Kravitz

The fire burned low. Flickering candles lit enough tomes to make out the arcane shape of their binding. Along the walls gazed new and old pictures of a family. Next to the fire slept an old beagle with two puppies. The fire popped and she woke up with a little start. The two puppies next to her whined but went on sleeping. Johanna settled down again, looking around the room. She couldn’t live forever, but her age hadn’t taken its toll on the perk to her ears in a few years. 

A few years of growing and learning and peace. 

She had so many things she was proud of. Most of them were her family. Her tail wagged as she looked at the photos around her. In one, she held the rings for Julia and Magnus. She could hear them down the hall. Both of them snored. 

Lup and Barry were upstairs, as far away from the snoring as they could be in the big house. So many pictures hung loose on the frames of them. Johanna had tried to eat one so she could keep it forever, but that hadn’t gone well. She made herself content since then to look at the things they did when they weren’t home. 

There was Taako, too. In most photos, he tried to look detached. He wasn’t very good at it, she thought. Maybe her second favorite from all the scraps he fed her cooking dinner. He was the one who’d picked her out of a box and dropped her onto her boy’s bed, too.

Her boy – her Angus – wasn’t around so much anymore, but she was proud of where he was. She had the pictures of him growing and launching rockets and graduating to wag her tail at when she especially missed him. He promised to take her with him somewhere warm that she could retire when he was done being away. 

Johanna didn’t mind the cold, really. 

She knew the winter wind. He stretched out beside her on the rug and read his strange books. Kravitz had enough of the human world in his heart that he didn’t quite understand her. She didn’t care. No, Johanna rather liked him. 

He did things like ask her what she thought of the little card forgotten in an empty box on the kitchen counter. The card said, ‘ _Dear Love of Mine, Do you remember the night we met? I can only see it for the stars I counted in your eyes and the dawn that laid in your hair. Everything else seems less vibrant in comparison to you. I can’t wait to see how I’ll remember every day with you. I love you. Yours Always, Kravitz_ ’. She knew it by heart – of course – because he was part of her family and so he had her heart, too. 

Taako’s note had only one word he’d changed so many times she’d learned that easily. He’d fretted with it all morning. It’d been worn down from paper to a soft, smudged slip of a word.

Well, they’d figured it out. She yawned and rested her head on her paws. That word meant so much to her and she was glad to share its meaning with them. Even the winter wind deserved a home and she’d do what that paper said to show him how it was done. She closed her eyes, then opened one and looked over at the table.

Maybe she should eat it to make sure it stuck around forever. 

Johanna jumped on the table, knocking over a half-drunk mug of cocoa emblazoned with a ‘K’. She ate a note on top of an open, empty velvet box that said, ‘ _Stay_ ’.

**Author's Note:**

> Feel free to follow my [Tumblr](https://evitcani-writes.tumblr.com/) or [Twitter](https://twitter.com/Evit_cani).


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